


Borderlands: The Dark Descent

by thedarkbakura



Series: Borderlands: The Dark Descent [1]
Category: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Crossover, Jack is an asshole, Mature rating for violence and potential language, More characters might be included later, Multi-verse, Other, Timothy didn't sign up for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-02-02 05:06:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12720225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedarkbakura/pseuds/thedarkbakura
Summary: After being granted knowledge that vaults exist all throughout the universe, Jack's search for a new vault leads him to discover a world taking place in the 19th Century. Further research is focused on Brennenburg Castle of a city in Alstadt, where mysterious happenings had occurred. Curious, Jack sends his best to explore. Little does Timothy know, he's in for a horrifying mission.





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> I had a fun idea of combining Borderlands with Amnesia. I’m particularly fond of crossovers and I decided to write a fun, short chaptered fic. Chapters are easy for me to get a lot written in short bursts. I might have taken a few things out of the actual course of the game and twisted a few technicalities to make it work. Enjoy.

Timothy was put under the assumption that this bounty was going to be easy, or, rather, easier than chasing hordes of bandits away while investigating places on Elpis or Pandora on Jack’s behalf. The information given to him was little. Brennenburg castle was on a whole other planet. Why Jack was so interested, Timothy had no idea. The briefing only told him that Brennenburg was mysterious and contained supernatural entities. Those were all key words that signaled the potential of a vault to Jack. His assignment was simple, investigate and relay all information back to Jack. Loot was hardly to be expected, but, if he found any, he was expected to bring it back. 

The shuttle ride was long, but peaceful. Timothy was able to catch a few winks, make some upgrades, check mail on his ECHO on the way there. At least he was given a chance to be productive in between tasks. Finally, the shuttle landed nearby the castle and he stepped outside the hold. He made sure he was fully equipped, wearing nothing but the best shields and wielding his best weapons. The body double even went so far as to ensuring his wrist lasers, watch, and a few syringes from Nina were on hand as well. This job was more than likely not going to entail blindly shooting in the wastelands or running through firefights, but he was only trying to be prepared. 

What could possibly go wrong?

“Hey, body double, I pulled up something interesting.” Jack’s voice suddenly radiated from his comms and startled Timothy from his thoughts, causing him to make an undignified sound. 

“Yeah, boss?” he sighed, trying to let his embarrassment slide. 

“Well I’m seeing all kinds of creepy stuff here. A couple of guys uncovered some kind of mystical artifact and that thing basically haunts the place. So…” he trailed off and Timothy could already feel the bad news coming. “It’s creating a lot of interference. I’m getting weird readings on your ECHO already. I can’t guarantee your weapons and tech will work once you’re inside. Or your ECHO.”

“So should I forget about the mission?” There was an almost hopeful tone to his question. 

“No no no, pumpkin, I still want you to look around. I’ll tell you what, I’ll send in the cavalry if I don’t hear from you in 24 hours. Just thought I’d let you know that this job may not be as easy it we both might have thought, but I think you’re gonna be fine, kiddo.”

Timothy swallowed thickly. Great. Just perfect. “I guess I’ll contact you if I’m still alive when it’s done.” He finally said with a sigh.

“Counting on you, cupcake.” Jack said in a sing-song tone before the two were finally disconnected. 

“Why did I take this job?” The doppelganger lamented as he stepped inside the castle doors. 

Everything seemed normal for just your average castle. The walls and floor were all made of stone. Carpets and fine tapestries decorated the surrounding area. There was definitely a creepy vibe with the draft and the darkness that came with it, but Timothy could see how long ago this was a grand entryway. As he stepped further inside, the door slammed shut behind him and he was soon overcome by a bright flash of white light. To make matters worse, that light was accompanied by a loud, roaring sound in his ears. His instincts kicked in and he instantly turned to run out the door only to find that a dark, red mass now blocked his exit. For Timothy, it appeared the only way out was to continue through this creepy castle. 

Letting out a groan, he carried on through the foyer. There was no set direction he was going and settled for wandering—that was until he saw a strange trail on the ground. That must be his initial clue to the mystery of this castle. Having no other ideas of where to go, he followed the spotty trail down a few halls and into rooms. Along the way, little things like a gust of wind, whispers, bugs, or doors blowing open startled him and he was already feeling the anxiety getting the better of him. Luckily for Timothy, he started seeing boxes of tinder and began collecting them to light his path as he carried on. At least having some light made matters easier. He continued following the trail down winding hallways and creepy rooms, perplexed at how…convenient the whole thing was. Still, he didn’t bother wasting time dwelling on it as he carried on. 

The doppelganger’s wandering led him to an old study with dusty shelves and worn books scattered on the floor. There were light hissing sounds from bugs and the curtains draping an old window were tattered and discolored. It was clear these rooms had not been kept up with over the years. A discarded lantern was on the ground and Timothy all but leapt for it, glad to have some source of light. With his luck, there was half a container of oil inside as well. Jackpot. Now with his new light source, he carried on through the halls until he noted the desk in the room. Curiously, he rifled through the desk and picked up, what appeared to be, a note. 

_If you are reading this, I may already be dead. I write this as I prepare my descent into this maddening castle. My name is Daniel. I have no other recollections of my past and the only other knowledge I have is that a nightmarish creature, a shadow, has been following me. It may follow you. I must venture into the darkness and kill Alexander. That is the only way I can escape. You must also make this same descent if you wish to escape this castle._  
Tread carefully, my friend, for I fear there is more danger to come from here on.  
-Daniel 

“Well that’s unsettling.” Timothy muttered to himself. “Can’t catch a break.” Pocketing the note, he backtracked his way out into the entrance hall. Since he covered the east side already, he walked down the steps in the center to peer around the corner. That same red webbing blocked his path, but, this time, he tested the strength of it. It wasn’t pliable. It appeared nothing he had on hand would tear it. He did have a grenade on hand though. Didn’t Jack say he can’t guarantee his weapons would work? Still, it was worth a shot and he, at least, had a typical explosive that didn’t come with all the fancy bells and whistles. He tossed the grenade in front of the red, web-like structure and hung back, waiting out the explosion that ensued until the dust cleared. 

“Success!” he proclaimed proudly and started to make his way down the stairs. Hopefully things will be just as easy as it was getting through that first blockage. Little did Timothy know, there was much more to come.


	2. Waist Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreaded water-part of Brennenburg castle has Timothy absolutely terrified and really has him reflecting on whether this job was worth it or not.

The trek from the sealed entryway led him to another dark and dusty hallway. No windows where the smallest fraction of light could come in were anywhere to be seen. So he might have to really rely on his lantern and the boxes of tinder he had been collecting along the way. The darkness was starting to take a toll on him, making his vision a bit bleary and he felt his skin crawl with bugs. Flinching, he twisted around and swatted at, what appeared to be, large hissing roaches. However, nothing seemed to really be there. 

“This place is nuts.” He muttered under his breath as he pulled out his lantern to push forward. What started to puzzle him were the boxes and crates that littered the halls on either side of him. Paying the oddly placed boxes no mind, he moved to duck into a nearby room with an open door when, suddenly, a resounding roar echoed around him. Timothy let out a terrified sound and dropped to his knees, covering his ears until the sound and shaking of the area around him stopped. At some point, he must have lost consciousness. 

Once the doppelganger came to, he was standing in waist deep water. He lamented about being soaked, especially since wet boots were the worst. Still, he had to keep moving, even if the water was going to slow him down. As he was moving, there was a sound of another splash coming closer. Confused, he stared ahead to find the source of the splashing to see nothing. “What the hell?” he held out his lantern, hoping it would cast a light to see anything, but no dice. These were goddamn invisible water creatures, and, not only was one coming straight for him, but the growls it made was something definitely not friendly. Oh hell no! Immediately, he jumped on top of a crate and tried to leap over…wherever the hell it was to make his way into the room on his right. Of course, the creature followed him in, so he had to think quickly and look for something that could be remotely helpful. Nothing was there that could save him, other than maybe a tinderbox, a bottle of laudanum, and—wait a key! Immediately, he pocketed it and leaped into the water, making a mad dash towards the end of the hallway.

His heart was pounding hard and his breathing was reduced to quick pants in favor of getting the hell out of there. God, he wanted to go home—not even to Helios, just home in general. Anywhere away from this creepy mansion and all its creepy inhabitants. The doppelganger reached a door at the end of the hall and flung it open before slamming it shut behind him. There was a thud behind him, making him believe he locked it out. Finally, he had a moment’s reprieve, right?  
Nope. 

Another invisible monster came splashing towards him, so Timothy did the most logical thing by jumping on top of a crate once again. Out of reach and seemingly stuck in one large empty room, he had a chance to scope out his new area. Ok, so the room is still flooded to hell, boxes are everywhere, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have a way around the unseen monster. A putrid smell entered his nostrils and Timothy almost retched when he saw the source.

“Urgh! Gross!” he exclaimed as he kicked a bloodied arm into the water and away from him. On cue, the creature turned its attention away from him and to the arm floating by the water. Some ravenous sounds echoed around the room, almost as if the monster was eating it. “Nasty.” Timothy wrinkled his nose and picked up a chunk of leftover torso with his gloved hand. He might have to scrub his fingers to the bone after he got out of this mess. He carefully hobbled from one box to another, trying to ignore the fact that a hungry, invisible monster was ready to tear his limbs apart as well as downplay just how scared out of his mind he was. 

Jeez and he thought Jack losing his shit after what happened on Elpis was creepy. He took back everything he said about his boss ever. Hell, maybe this was some sick punishment from Jack for all the things he’s muttered over the ECHOnet about him. Sucking in a breath, he shook his head to chase away those distracting thoughts. The only thing that mattered right now was getting the hell out of the flooded room. Once he got close enough to the door, he hurled the hunk of corpse as hard as he could across the room, hoping the monster went for it. When he heard the splashing get further away and noticed the water ripples going towards it, he immediately jumped in and turned the wheel beside the door as fast as he was able. C’monC’monC’mon! 

Seconds felt like long minutes and it clearly didn’t take long for the creature to finish its meal and chase right after Timothy again. Now the gate was open just enough for him to duck under and he screamed at the top of his lungs as he fumbled with the key. “Crap! Crapcrapcrap!” he repeated until he was able to get the door opened and slammed right in the creature’s face. Once he was sure he was safe for now, he flopped back against the door and took a second to just breathe. His heart was pounding and his head ached from the sheer amount of stress. Timothy even took a second to glance at shaky hands to assess the damage. He was still unscathed, so that was good. No chunks taken away. All limbs were intact. Hell, if he knew, this was probably better than getting shot at by Psychos. 

Timothy took a long while to get his bearings back before deciding to carry on with his quest. He just hoped that invisible creatures were about as bad as it got. Surely it had to be? As he waded through the shallower water, he thought about attempting to contact Jack, just to see if he truly lost connection or not. But what would he say? Just as he was thinking it over, the halls shook once again, rattling dust and dirt all around Timothy. A resounding roar echoed throughout the halls and the only instinct Timothy had was to run like hell. The doppelganger sprinted through the water, not daring to look back as the roaring grew louder and louder. The space around him seemed to get dimmer and grow red in color and it almost felt like a dangerous entity was hot on his trail as he ran, no matter how fast he went. 

“Leave me alone!” he wailed as he opened and slammed doors every step of the way, making the shadow only screech louder in retaliation. Finally, he reached a door and bolted inside. Timothy had entered the back halls and everything was quiet, save for the strange fountain in the center of the room. All he could muster was trudge forward and fall to his knees before the statue to sink his head underneath the falling water. God he better get paid handsomely for all of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me awhile to write, as I tried to sum it up but not make it too repetitive. Someone help Timtams.


	3. Face to Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timothy has a moment to take a breather and learn what the hell it was that was causing him some much trouble in the flooded basement. Of course, no important item can be touched without attracting the attention of the patrolling grunt.

Timothy had sat there on his knees, water from the fountain cascade over his head. It was soothing, to say the least, to hear nothing but the ambiance of the water running over his ears. Eventually, his breathing returned to normal and he allowed himself to fall back onto the dusty, stone floor. He laid back until his head reached an old, red rug and he just allowed himself a moment to rest. Getting the absolute hell scared out of you can tire a seasoned vault hunter like him out. He was starting to get the feeling that this wasn’t going to be your average vault. 

Right before he was starting to contemplate moving onward, his ECHO started to emit a crackling noise. Frowning, he took it out and switched it on to accept the call. Jack warned him that his communications were going to be spotty, so Timothy hardly tried. He supposed his boss was feeling a bit antsy and tried to see if the call went through. The recording was fuzzy, but he was still able to be heard. 

“Helloooo? Can you hear me, pumpkin? This is probably my—“ Jack’s voice trailed off momentarily. “Fifth? Time to get into contact with you. Really hoping you’re not dead up there.” 

“I’m not sure if you can hear me, boss, but everything is fine so far.” 

“Hey! About frickin’ time I hear from you. Sheesh, guess the mystical nonsense really is messing with your stuff. How you coming along up there?”

Timothy let out an audible sigh. “Just…the usual.” 

“Any close to that vault?”

“Well, you see, I’m really not sure there is one—“

“Ah, ah, ah!” Jack tutted, interrupting Timothy from speaking any further. “I’m paying you to investigate. Vault or no vault, you’re still gonna get a huge reward from your’s truly for your trouble.” God Timothy could almost hear the wink and smirk on his Jack’s face. 

“Can’t wait.” He mumbled. 

“That’s the spirit, buddy-boy. Now chop-chop, time’s-a-wasting and we’ve got plenty more vaults to hunt down.” 

Almost on cue, the hall the doppelganger was in started to rustle, releasing more dust around him. “Yes, sir.” 

Once the ECHO lost connection, he got up slowly and decided to have a look around. On the east side was a staircase and a door, but it was blocked by rubble in a way that made it look intentional. This wasn’t an accident. Daniel must have done this to prevent him from going that way, and Timothy wasn’t about to see for what reason could be. The best thing to do was to go with his instincts and go the other way. Quite a few doors were along the way, one led to a bedroom that Timothy discovered was once Daniel’s. How perfect. At least the bedroom wasn’t in that much more disarray than the rest of the manor that he’s seen. It seemed like it was kept in decent shape for guests, which contrasted a lot of the other rooms of the place. 

He poked around a bit, hoping to find a little more about this Daniel guy when he found a worn-out journal inside a desk. Jackpot! Gathering the book, he made his way to the bed to sit and give it a read. The contents were mildly disturbing, telling about Daniel who once went to a place called Egypt to study some old tombs. Hm, that’s not unlike most explorers he had seen back on Elpis or Pandora. Interesting. The creepiest part, however, was the more he read, the more chilling the story became. This Daniel guy shattered an ancient relic and carried it with him. Anyone with brains can probably assume he released a malevolent spirit and that became attached to his person. Well, hell, no wonder the place is so haunted. 

After getting the general idea of the guy he was essentially following into the darkness beneath Brennenburg, Timothy set the book back down on the nightstand. Great. This is really going to amount to nothing in the end, he can feel it. This is just a haunted house and Jack was probably sitting back in his office laughing at the doppelganger for his troubles. God, he was not looking forward to turning in whatever his ECHO might have managed to pick up while running around the mansion. Maybe he can sell the ECHOs of him screaming to the Jack fan bases around Helios? Nah, black mail was never really his things. However, the idea was satisfying for the moment. 

Right when he got up to venture out again, there was a sudden banging on the door. Timothy yelped and scrambled to his feet. Shit! Where to now? This was different, this wasn’t like the shadowy mist following him—if the growls from outside meant anything. With adrenaline coursing through him, he dashed across the front room and into a spare room containing dressers and a wardrobe. The millisecond he shut the door behind him, there was a crash coming from the entrance to the guest quarters. Ohgod!Ohgod!Ohgod! Timothy had zero time to think and decided to clamor his way into a wardrobe and close it behind him. Immediately, he crouched to the bottom and covered his mouth and nose to somehow muffle the sound of his panicked breathing. His head was in a buzz, making the dark, cramped space feel like it was much more darker and smaller than he thought. It almost felt like he was being enveloped in total darkness as he heard the monster from the outside breach the door and look around the small room. The creature was hardly there for long, but it certainly felt like an eternity. When movement was finally heard, Timothy dared to open the door just a crack to peek at whatever it was that was searching for him. 

What he saw was a hideous creature that could have rivaled even threshers and goliaths on Pandora. The doppelganger had a run in with a lot of weird creatures and people—but nothing like this. Its form was grotesque with rolls of, what could be, fat hanging over the wraps that covered the creature. Long, horrific claws extended from its hands and it almost appeared like old blood was still crusted over the black talons. Finally, the most terrifying feature, was its gigantic mouth. It was almost as if the jaw was pulled out and its mouth was stretched out. Whatever it was, it was awful to look out and his brain was on fire for even daring to stare at it. 

As soon as he saw it, and made his observations, it was gone and Timothy was so scared and so low on his sanity that he blacked out in the wardrobe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short, but Timtams you can't let your sanity get dangerously low. Well, at least he was in a safe spot.


	4. Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timothy crawls his way towards the Inner Sanctum. Will he find what Jack sent him there for in the first place?

Timothy had no idea how long he was out for, when he finally stirred, his head was aching and he felt more than a little dizzy. What the hell was up with this creepy mansion? It was times like this where he missed home and wondered why he ever took this stupid body double gig. Oh, right…money. Why does the cost of education have to be so steep? He waited for a moment, listening outside to ensure there was, indeed, nothing lurking around outside the wardrobe out to maul him with those horrifying claws. When he heard nothing, he slowly pushed open the door so he could step out, his bones creaking into place as he stretched. 

What the hell was that thing? 

Whatever it was, Timothy knew he had a job at hand and needed to keep moving further down in this mansion. Once he was out of the wardrobe, he poked around the bedroom one last time to make sure the coast was clear until he decided to step out into the back hallway again. As soon as that door closed behind him, it became clear to Timothy that whatever chased him earlier was still closing in as a resounding roar shook the whole hall. The doppelganger wasted no time and sprinted towards the west end of the hall. He passed a few doors, but they were covered in that same web-like structure. Lumps of pulsing red fluid were on either end of him, decorating the stone floors as he ran. One exploded as he stepped in it, hurting him and splattering that same liquid in his face. Gross! 

His heart pounded in his ears and his breathing was erratic by the time he reached the end of the hall to a rusty-looking elevator. Hell if he knew if it worked or not. He just needed to get out of there and fast. Timothy fought with the gate, using all of his might to pull it closed. It was when he caught a glimpse of a dangerous, red fog crawling his way that he panicked and slammed the level down. The elevator plummeted to the ground and poor Timothy all but screamed the entire way down. “Craaaaaaaaaaaap!” 

Eventually, the contraption crashed to the bottom floor, kicking up a world of dust. Timothy coughed and waved at the air in some vague attempt to clear it. Once it finally settled, he pushed open the gate to step around the debris the crash made. No sign of light was to be seen, so he hastily lit a candle nearby with one of those tinderboxes he had on hand. Despite the effort, there still was not a whole lot to be seen. He made sure to top off the oil lantern and held it out once it was lit, deciding to carry onwards to explore this new area. 

The halls were covered top to bottom with stone, making it that much more dark. There was a distant water dripping sound, and few puddles pooled on the edges of the dismal halls. Every so often, Timothy caught a glimpse of dried blood on the walls. It made his stomach churn, especially when the smell of death wafted in his direction from a nearby room. He was quiet as he peered into the crack of the door, ensuring the coast was clear before stepping inside. Rats scattered at his feet and away from an old corpse next to a rusted bed frame. 

“Gross.” He muttered in disgust as he stumbled around the room, to open a chest in the back. More oil and tinder. Stuffing the supplies away, Timothy peered out of the room, lantern in hand to keep moving down the labyrinth of halls. He had no clear direction of where he was going to go and checked among the rooms for things to be used, or clues for that matter, until a sound nearly made him jump out of his skin. 

“RAAGH!”

Timothy was almost certain he made a quiet and undignified sound in surprise. Panic started to set in once he heard nearby footsteps, kicking his instincts into overdrive to get the hell out of there. He ran as fast as he could and fumbled with a cell door to open and shut behind him. The doppelganger was positive he must have been spotted, as it sounded like the patrolling grunt was getting closer and closer. His lantern sat beside him and his hands were tightly clasped over his mouth to muffle his whimpering. What did not help was the monster banged on the metal door a couple of times before it eventually wandered away. 

Tears wet the corners of Timothy’s eyes and his heart pounded in his ears. He was almost done for right then. Luckily, a glance around the room showed him just how lucky he was when he noticed a crawl space big enough for him to get inside. This had to have been Daniel’s way down, judging by the discarded items sitting aside that might have been used to further open the crawl space. Timothy wriggled his way inside and moved through the tunnel in hopes to eventually reach the end of his descent. 

His journey from then on was long and arduous. If the few creatures he ran into was scary enough, there were more of them the further down he descended. Timothy swore he was going to have chronic heart problems for the rest of his life after this job. He learned some terrible things about the man he was following to the deepest part of the mansion—not to mention the man he was going to kill. To think Pandora was a psychotic planet enough as it was. It put a lot of things into perspective for him. Finally, after enduring all that fear, Timothy made it to the inner sanctum, where he stood before a glowing entrance.

“Son of a taint…there actually is a vault down here.” Timothy muttered as he reached out towards the ominous symbol. He was surrounded by white light and was transported to a dark and misty space. The feeling was unpleasant and he kept his hand near his watch, ready to summon his digital decoys at a moment’s notice. A load roaring sound echoed around him, making the ground shake. Red mist swirled around the room before gathering like a funnel in the center. This must have been the shadow acting as the vault monster. Right before Timothy had time to react, the mist dissipated and out poured the contents of the vault. Weird. Was there not supposed to be a fight? Or was he supposed to be led there? 

There were so many unanswered questions, but all Timothy occupied himself with was gathering the contents of the vault, stuffing them in his inventory, and then getting the hell out of this terrifying castle. Nothing seemed particularly useful to him, but he could not speak for Handsome Jack. Once everything was in order, he stepped towards the middle of the room to touch a light orb of light, hoping that was his escape. A flash of white light enveloped the body double and he found himself outside of the manor.

“Huh? What just…?” Timothy muttered, flabbergasted. 

“Helloooooo?” His ECHO rang out. “Anyone home? Kiddo, I’m literally a touch away from sending in the calvary.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary boss. I, uh, I made it out. I can hear you now.” 

“Frickin’ finally! Got anything good for me, pumpkin?” Jack asked almost excitedly, like a kid in a toy store. 

“Er…I’m not sure. I’ll just let you look at it when I come back. And—can I make a request?” Timothy wondered. 

“Sure, kiddo, anything.” 

“No more creepy castles!” Timothy huffed. 

Jack’s grin could not get any wider. “Don’t worry, cupcake, I got plenty of ECHO recordings of you screaming your ass off to last me a lifetime.” 

Timothy could feel those years of being Hyperion property sink deeper into his bones. God what he wouldn’t give for his old life back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cut a lot of corners with this fic because I really didn't want to write out each single part of the game. I wanted to try to wrap this one up and make it fairly open-ended. Crossovers like this is more than likely going to start being a thing as Timtams heads to other worlds to find more vaults. 
> 
> Thanks, Jack, for sending him to a scary castle.


End file.
